The Perfectionist
by midlands-lass
Summary: Just a little insight into an autumn night in, not long after Robbie has moved into Laura's. No Plot, just romantic fluff, no rumpy pumpy either - for now anyway. I don't own them etc. etc.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This is my first fanfic and I'd love to know what you think. I've left this story open as an incomplete as I think there could be a nice 2nd chapter, possibly of the M variety. But I do realise that the Lewis / Robson universe is shrinking as time passes so it might be that no-one is too bothered about it anyway, so I'll see how it goes and might possible update it for my own amusement. Or not. Cheers!**

It was mid October. Night was falling and the sky was a shining luminous blue that faded upwards to a deep sapphire. The air was dry and cold. Laura Hobson pulled her jacket around her and adjusted her scarf as she left the pathology lab and headed to her car. A few stars had started to appear in the dome of the sky and in the west she saw, hanging delicately, the thin crescent of the new moon. She stopped at her car and before getting in took a deep breath of the crisp evening air and slowly breathed out. There was a scent of autumn leaves and woodsmoke even in the centre of the city. She loved this time of year.

Her phone throbbed briefly in her pocket signalling a text had arrived. and as she retrieved it she smiled when she saw the sender's name on the screen. Robbie. She opened the text and read:

_pie been in oven 15 mins, shiraz opened to breathe, mushy peas on a low light, _

She thumbed a reply

_Glad to know you're doing what you've been told to. Home in 15 mins_

She smiled again as she pressed send. The previous evening she'd spent cooking for the week ahead, preparing food and loading the fridge with freshly cooked meals that she could leave for Robbie to just shove in the oven. He'd offered to cook numerous times since moving in but it soon became clear that it wasn't really his forte and anyway she enjoyed cooking, she found it relaxing. She also got a kick out of Robbie's enjoyment of her offerings. Tonight it was steak and ale pie and mushy peas. It was one of Robbie's favourite meals and the first time she'd made it for him he'd pretty much gone into raptures over it. It wasn't just the rich and tender steak, or the delicious ale gravy or even the meltingly and crisp handmade shortcrust pastry that had astonished him. It was that she'd taken the time to make proper mushy peas. Just for him. _Of course she had; she'd had enough take away fish and chips and pub pies and peas with him to know that he loathed anything other than properly cooked mushy peas. Had listened to him curse each time a meal had arrived with bright green tinned slush. Heard him wax lyrical about how it was impossible to get proper mushy peas anywhere south of Derby. Of course she'd taken the time. For him. Even if it did mean coming home after a long day and preparing them so they could soak overnight, then carefully cooking them the next day to tender perfection just the way he loved them._

Those reasons, of course but it also helped that Laura Hobson was a perfectionist. Even for a dish of perfectly cooked dried peas. There was little she couldn't do if she set her mind to it. Sometimes she didn't even have to try, she was one of those gifted people who could turn their hand to pretty much anything. She excelled at sports, music, science and maths and of course her chosen field of expertise in her career. She could cook, bake, compose music, paint, draw and even throw a ceramic pot. Robbie knew all this. He'd never ceased to be in awe of her talents and her genuine humility in knowing that she could achieve almost everything she wanted to.

_Almost _everything.

Robbie read her reply and smiled to himself. She always left strict instructions with oven temperatures and timings for him to follow. So far he'd not messed up. Much. He didn't "get" cooking but he loved food. After his wife had died he'd lost interest in the comfort that food could offer and had sunk into bad habits of takeaways and blisteringly hot and equally unappetising microwave meals. When he moved in with Laura he'd soon discovered that she had yet another talent in her repertoire. _Bloody hell woman, is there anything you can't do? _And she'd hooked her hands around his neck and pulled him in close. _There used to be two things, but now its just one, and I'm not telling you what it is . . . _ Two things? After long afternoons in bed together making love and talking for hours, she opened her heart to him and told him how utterly miserable she'd been when it had come to relationships and love. In this she had failed spectacularly. Until him. But what was the other thing? It hadn't taken too long for him to find out.

The night air had chilled even more by the time Laura reached home. She parked up and could see the curtains closed against the darkness and lights on in her home. _Their home_. She smiled to herself. This was becoming a regular occurrence - she kept finding herself smiling when she thought of him, of them, together. It had happened so quickly but oh so easily. These days she found herself leaving work on time, desperate to get home so they could spend as much of the evening together as possible. It was a good feeling.

She put her key into the door and let herself in shouting a hello as she did so. On the hall table she saw a glass vase full of bright yellow and orange rudbeckias. Robbie appeared from the living room, a tea towel over his shoulder.

"Hello love" he said and no sooner had she closed the door and locked it behind her he had his arms round her and had pulled her in close for a kiss.

"Hello" she returned, with a smile, into his kiss. Her arms wrapped round his back and she felt him nuzzle his face into her hair.

"You've brought the cold in with you, bit nippy out there eh?"

"It is getting a bit colder. What's with the flowers?" She gestured to the vibrant flowers. They were almost luminous in the evening light and seemed to glow, almost as if in an attempt to stave off the coming darkness of the change in season.

"It's going to be frosty tonight, I thought it was a shame for them to get hit so I brought them in"

"Frost?"

"Yeah, according to the weather."

"Hmm, looks like we'll have to put the heating on tonight"

"Maybe. Come on, let's eat. I've been jonesing for that pie of yours since this afternoon"

She rolled her eyes at him

"At least let a girl have a quick shower after a long day in the morgue"

"Go on then. I'll set the table. According to your instructions you've got another 15 minutes before the pie's done. I'd better go and stir those peas."

He gave her backside a playful slap before heading back towards the kitchen. Smiling Laura went upstairs to shower and change. She was still getting used to "off duty" Robbie. Off Duty Robbie would sneak up behind her and grab her unawares, kiss her and make her shriek with amused indignation. Off duty Robbie bought her cups of tea before making breakfast for her on her early starts. Best of all, off duty Robbie got into bed with her every night, wrapped his arms round her and kept her warm.

Down in the kitchen Robbie turned the gas down under the mushy peas. He was very careful to make sure that he didn't burn the bottom of the pan. No one made peas for him like Laura, well, maybe his old Gran had, but it had been a long, long time since then. Laura didn't really eat much of the peas herself but she still made them for him. He smiled to himself, she was quite a woman. Clever, kind, sexy and full of sass. Usually aimed at him. His smile broke into a grin. Sometimes he questioned how they had ended up together, when she could have had her pick of any man she wanted. But she _had_ picked the man she wanted, so she said, when he asked her that question not long after they'd got together. He smiled to himself again before shaking his head slightly at the warm feeling he got each time he took stock of the fact that they were now living together, after all this time. Sighing contentedly he gave the peas a final stir before going to the back door of the kitchen that lead into the garden.

When Robbie had moved in to Laura's house he'd been excited by the presence of the stove in the living room. It sat impressively in the large fireplace that must have once housed a cooking range. It was a large cast iron affair with decorative doors, large enough to take a big hefty log or two and looked just the thing for a cosy night in during the depths of winter.

"I bet that gets nice and toasty eh?" He'd said to Laura not long after moving in with her

"Mmm" she'd said, tight lipped. She had quickly changed the subject.

Although that had been in the summer months he'd thought it was odd that she didn't seem to share his enthusiasm about sitting in front of a warm stove on a frosty night, all tucked up and cosy. Not to mention how romantic it could be. Eventually she had confessed to him that she'd tried numerous times to light a fire in the stove and failed miserably. Consequently, she'd never been able to muster anything other than a few flames and some damp smoke before the whole lot had sputtered out. She told him she'd bought white spirit, firelighters, applied the laws of physics, checked wind speed, had it insprected by a sweep and even watched video tutorials on the net. But to no avail. He teased her mercilessly at the time that he'd found the one sole thing she was incapable of. It was no secret that she was a perfectionist and he could tell that she was genuinely irritated at not being able to light a fire. It was this that was the one thing she couldn't do. Not exactly a big deal, unless of course you were in a survival situation.

So it was that a few days after seeing that cold weather was finally on its way, Robbie sourced a load of logs and a flat packed wooden store and arranged for delivery in secret that morning. He had spent the afternoon stacking logs into the newly installed log store in the back garden. He'd bought a small hand axe to split some of the larger logs and a log basket for beside the fireplace. By the end of the day it was filled ready with various sized logs and kindling. He'd left the basket outside. He wanted it to be a surprise. Outside, now in the chilly night air, he could hear and see the boiler vent puthering out white vapours. Good, she was still in the shower. Time enough to bring in the fruits of his afternoon's work

After her shower, Laura dressed quickly and headed downstairs. She was hungry and felt a flush of joy when she thought about how a simple shared meal with Robbie filled her with such happiness. As she reached the bottom of the stairs she shivered slightly. Maybe the heating should go on now before the house got too chilly. She went towards the central heating dial on the wall. She paused briefly - there was a fragrant scent in the air, she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was, it was slightly sweet and almost mossy. Odd.

Her hand went to the dial.

"I wouldn't bother" Robbie's voice behind her stopped her before she dialled up the thermostat. She turned to see him leaning in the doorway. She frowned at him.

"It's going to be cold tonight, you said so yourself" she looked at him in exasperation, almost irritation.

Smiling at her and without saying anything he went towards her and took her hand. He lead her through the doorway into the sitting room. "Robbie – the heating" she protested but he ignored her, still smiling, and continued to lead her into the sitting room, towards the fireplace.

The scent that Laura had detected earlier became stronger and sweeter and as Robbie came to a stop at the fireplace she realised what it was. She saw the door to the stove was open and a stack of kindling was laid expertly within. An attractive looking basket of firewood sat to the side of the fireplace and a few logs were also stacked either side of the stove in the sides of the fireplace. Robbie watched as a smile started to spread across her face.

"Here" he said softly, handing her a box of matches "just light the two firelighters at either end, it'll be up in no time"

Laura held the matches in her hand. She looked at him, her eyes dark and shining, one of her gazes that always made his heart thump a little harder.

"What?" he said with a curious smile

"I want you to light it"

"But I'm going to show you how to do it"

"I don't want to know. I don't need to know. Not anymore."

"You want me to light your fire?" He smiled, getting the gist of how she was feeling

"You already have" and she went to him, putting her arms around him and pulling him down for a kiss.

"Thank you" she said when they finally pulled apart. "it's wonderful" He smiled down to her.

"Do you want to light it now or shall we eat?"

"Well, being as we've got all night and that I can hear – or rather I can _feel_ your belly rumbling, I think we'd better eat now"

"Agreed" he smiled, kissing her again before leading her into the kitchen.

Later on, with the pie and peas demolished and the dishes done and half the shiraz drunk they returned to the sitting room. Laura sat with her legs tucked under her on the sofa and watched on as Robbie lit the stove. He was right, it was up in no time and within minutes she could feel the warmth from the flames. The scent of the logs was still delicious and Robbie picked out a cherrywood log from the basket and told Laura it would smell good as it burned. He was right - a sweet woody cherry scent filled the room as it caught in the stove. Once the fire had got onto a roll Robbie found his place next to Laura and drew her into an embrace. She snuggled up to him and rested her head on his chest. She thought of all the times she'd sat alone on that sofa, miserable and cold and lonely - Staring into the empty dark stove and berating herself as she catalogued all her failed relationships. Now, her eyes took in the bright cheery light of the fire that Robbie had lit. She inhaled deeply, taking in the warm scent of the room and, nuzzling her nose into his jumper, the reassuring scent of Robbie. She let out a long, contented sigh and anchored herself deeper into his embrace. He smiled as he looked down at her arms around him. In a few minutes he would have to get up to put another log on the fire and with a smile it occurred to him that the fire was a bit like a relationship. You had to tend to it, respect it and keep it going. You had to follow its lead sometimes, stoke it up or damp it down. You could see how it was doing by just watching it or by feeling its warmth. He pulled Laura in a bit closer and placed a kiss into her hair.

Later on, after they had finished the wine and the logs on the fire shifted lazily into embers. Laura could feel the drift of sleep start to descend over her. She felt warm and cozy and suddenly aware of how happy she felt. They had relaxed their way through the evening chatting and laughing and discussing work and old cases as they often did when left to their own devices. In-between there were easy pauses of peaceful quiet, accompanied by a soothing caress on each other's hand or arm.

Robbie checked his watch, 11 pm. It was late. Laura needed to be up early in the morning, and moreover he needed to be up to bring her a cup of tea while she pulled round. He gave her a gentle squeeze.

"Come on love, bedtime. Let's go upstairs before the fire goes out"

She looked up at him, lost in some sort of thought. Her eyes were dark and shining again, looking only at him. He looked back at her, a gentle smile on his lips before getting to his feet and pulling her up off the sofa.

"Yes, let's" she said and taking his hand she led him upstairs.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you all for your lovely comments and encouragement. It really has inspired me to keep writing. I'm so glad that folk are still interested in our favourite duo and it's good to know that you are all wanting more as I hope to write more. **

**There's lots I wanted to add to this story but as I'm working on a couple of other ideas for our duo I though it would be best to save stuff for those stories and possibly any others that might materialise in my head. Anyway, thanks so much for reading. **

**Here is chapter 2 of this little vignette of Robson Domesticus.**

Ten minutes later and Robbie was in bed while Laura finished cleaning her teeth in the small en-suite bathroom. Their bedtime routine on a work night was an efficient one of orchestrated teeth cleaning, face washing and getting changed for bed. Laura appeared from out of the bathroom and went to the wardrobe to get her clothes ready for the next morning. She was already dressed for bed in one of Robbie's old shirts. She had several sets of bed wear but sometimes she wore one of his shirts if her other items were in the wash. He liked it. He watched her choose an outfit for the next morning and reach up, on tiptoes, to hang the jacket, jumper and jeans on the outside of the wardrobe door. He stole a glance as she stretched up to hook the clothes hangers onto the top of the door. The shirt rode up slightly and he caught a glimpse of her naked backside. She adjusted the jumper on its hanger then turned and made her way to the bed. Smiling at her and secretly at his own voyeurism he pulled back the duvet so she could get in. She turned her bedside light off as she did so and then climbed in beside him. He pulled the duvet over her and then wrapped his arms around her in a spooning embrace and they both settled themselves into the warmth and comfort of each other's arms.

Robbie loved this time with her. In all the years he'd been on his own, this time of the day had been the worse. In the early years after Val was killed, at this time of night he'd been at his most desolate. It was just as he was slipping off to sleep that he'd felt the most alone. As the years had passed and time had taken the edge of the grief, he'd just felt plain lonely; in bed on his own with the other side of the bed cold, empty and dark in the middle of the night. How different it was now, to have Laura to talk to just before succumbing to drowsy sleep, to know she was there when he woke in the night, to feel the warmth of her presence, to reach out and feel her soft skin and to feel her turn, in her sleep, and touch him and draw herself up to him.

"So" Robbie said, his face close to hers. He could smell the minty aroma of toothpaste. Her hair was soft and tickled his cheek "You like the fire then?"

"Mmm, I do, I love it. Thank you"

He felt and heard her smile as she spoke, and her hand went to his arm and she gave it a squeeze.

"Who taught you to light a fire?" She asked

"Well, everyone had a fire when I was a lad. It was my job to set it and clean it out everyday, so it's second nature really. I must have just learnt it off my Mam and Dad I suppose. Did you have a fire in your house growing up?"

"We did, but it wasn't my job to light it"

Robbie smiled into her hair again. She'd told him a little bit about her childhood and he knew she'd come from an affluent family. She'd told him before about the big country house she grew up in with her parents and two older brothers, Edward and Richard. He knew it had been a very happy childhood from the things she'd told him.

"We had a housekeeper, she used to deal with all the household stuff and cooking. Mrs Jones. She was lovely, very kind. She used to let me toast, or rather burn marshmallows in front of the fire in the downstairs kitchen. Anyway, she used to light the fires. It was sad, her husband and brother had both been killed in the second world war and I think we became a substitute family to her. My Mum and Dad didn't really need her after my brothers and I were older but I think my parents were fond of her and wanted to help her, and besides I don't think my Dad was able to light a fire either" She laughed softly.

Robbie smiled at the memories she was sharing with him. It was a world away from the childhood he'd had in Newcastle but there was never any hint of snobbery or superiority from Laura, ever. He knew her Dad had been an eminent surgeon, talented and well respected and a champion for social equality in the NHS.

"You must miss your Dad" he said

"I do. Even now, after all this time. I miss being able to talk to him about my work; even after he retired he was always interested in new discoveries and advancements in medicine and how it affected my work."

"He must have been very proud of you and what you achieved"

"He was. He told me often. Especially when he knew he was going to die, after he got cancer."

Robbie knew her father had died not long before she started at Thames Valley Police.

"That must have been hard for you, just as you were starting your career"

"It was hard, but it could have been worse. Don't get me wrong, it felt cruel and unfair for him to die and just be gone from our lives but he was a big one for making us all talk about our feelings. We all knew it was coming and he talked us through it even. It made it a bit better that we could laugh and cry with him."

Robbie held her a little tighter, sensing she was suddenly in receipt of long packed away emotions. He was glad to be there, to listen; she'd helped him like this many times in the past and he was always ready to return the comfort.

"Anyway, if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be where I am now. When I was little he let me just do and be what I wanted. My brothers would go out shooting and bring back squirrels and rabbits and my dad used to let me perform post mortems on them."

Robbie smiled at the thought of a little Laura playing at what she would eventually become.

"I used to love it. Spending time with him and learning from him. Sometimes I used to feel that I should have gone into doctoring rather than pathology but he would tell me that my career was just as beneficial to the living as doctoring was, even though it was performed on the dead, and that I could provide comfort for people"

"I think he was right" said Robbie gently. "You give people answers they need, even if it's not always what they want to hear at such a painful time."

"That's what he said. He always encouraged me to be true to myself and to believe in myself. It was the same with Richard and Eddie, I think he would have liked them to go into medicine too but it wasn't what either of them were interested in. It didn't matter to him, he was still proud, and my Mum too."

She sighed.

"Things were never quite the same after he died. My Mum sold the house and went to live with Eddie and his wife and girls. She died 3 years later and then they moved to New Zealand."

Robbie squeezed her gently, silently acknowledging the sadness that seemed to have welled up again.

"what about your other brother?" He said softly.

"Richard lives in New York, which is very handy for city breaks." She laughed again and she felt him smile against her cheek.

"Do you get to see them much?"

"A few times a year. They both often pop back for work."

"Do you get on with them?"

"Oh yes. Really well. I'm still very much the naughty little sister though – at least that's what it feels like. I used to drive them mad but they'd always look after me. They'd be off out camping, in the summertime, in the nearby woods, and I'd sneak out of the house at night because I wanted to join in. I disrupted lots of teenage activities they had planned with the girls from the local boarding school many a time. When I was very small I used to take their action men and strip off the clothes to put on my Sindy doll. I mean, why couldn't Sindy wear cammo? I caused them quite a lot of grief" She laughed at the recollection.

"I can just imagine that" Robbie chuckled. "I bet you were a cheeky little lass"

"That's probably a kind way of putting it I suspect. I think Richard and Eddie would have other words to describe me. _"Little Arsehole"_ being their favourite phrase at one time if I recall"

They both chuckled again. Laura felt any sadness that had briefly surfaced lift away as she laughed and Robbie hugged her in a bit more, feeling full of affection for her and the memories and emotions she'd shared with him.

"Anyway, despite being a complete tomboy I never managed to learn how to light a fire"

"Well, you can leave it to me now eh?"

"Yes" She said softly, and he could hear her smile as she spoke. "I hope we have the coldest winter" She snuggled back into him and placed her hand over his. A cozy silence settled over them and they both started to sink towards relaxation.

She yawned sleepily which set Robbie off yawning. He turned to switch of his bedside light. Then gently replaced his arm around her. He kissed her neck.

"Night Love"

"Night Robbie" She took his hand in hers and drew it to her lips and kissed it before clasping it close to her heart. How she loved the simple pleasure of articulating thoughts and memories to him, seemingly basic memories that were so close to her heart that she'd never really expressed them to anyone else, for no other reason than they were precious to her alone. It felt right to share them with him, tonight.

Outside the temperature dropped and the midnight sky was as clear as it was cold. The stars shivered in the frozen darkness and a frost started to crackle across the pavements and gardens of Oxford. In the stove downstairs the logs that Robbie had kindled and set alight had almost burned out, but not quite. The embers shifted slightly as they smouldered, some still glowing warmly. There was heat left in the stove. And, outside in the cold darkness, plenty more logs to burn.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note

**Thanks everyone for your messages about this story. This is the final chapter for this little vignette, and it's basically a clean version of the ending I've already written for it in my bonus chapter / story Catching The Embers. I was going to write another chapter for this story but I feel I concluded it in Catching The Embers so I've edited out the M content and replaced it here. Sorry if this is a bit confusing, I'm still new to writing and posting, so please bear with me. I'll try to get my act together next time!  
**

** Thanks again for your lovely comments and messages, it really spurs me on to write more, so many thanks and I look forward to posting new stories again soon.**

* * *

With the light turned off and the quiet cold darkness of the autumn night outside, Laura found herself sighing deeply as she felt the warmth from Robbie's body against her back. For a few minutes she tried to sleep, closing her eyes.

But sleep didn't descend. Nor did it for Robbie who had tried to do the same.

Some nights they dropped off to sleep straight away, usually Robbie first and then Laura would gently move from his embrace and sleepily turn onto her stomach before drifting off.

But not tonight; not just yet.

Still spooned against his chest, Laura heard Robbie clear his throat softly. She smiled to herself. She knew he was awake and she knew what would happen next.

Robbie in turn could feel that Laura was still not asleep, her breathing hadn't slowed and there was what felt like an electric hum between them, where they made contact against each other, as if neither of them had been earthed. He knew what would happen next too. . .

Afterwards, Robbie, stretched out by Laura's side nuzzled his nose against her cheek. As she turned to face him he regarded her, steadily holding her gaze with a knowing smile. She looked back at him, her eyes darting shyly between his. A bashful laugh escaped her lips. She was often like this after they'd been together. He adored it. It wasn't what he'd expected at first – she was usually so confident and self-assured in other areas of her life, he'd not anticipated her to be shy in these matters at all. He didn't realise the real reason behind it. Laura wasn't a prude and she'd had her fun in the past but since being with Robbie she'd discovered she'd not been in love with anyone before as much as she felt with him. It had disarmed her and for now she was a little in awe of it all. She knew she'd fallen hard for him. She was still getting used to how good it all felt. The two of them, together; how good it really was and how much she was allowing herself to love and be loved by him.

"You ok?" He asked her, his voice was soft and quiet.

"Mmhmmm" she replied and now her smile beamed at him and in turn he grinned back at her. Tenderly he brushed a stray lock of hair that had fallen across her eyes then gently kissed her lips.

"You should sleep, it's late"

"I know" she said still smiling and looking at him. She didn't seem to care how late it was. After a moment, however, she sighed and then got up to go to the bathroom.

When she returned, Robbie had unrumpled the duvet and plumped up the pillows for her. He lay on his back and she climbed in beside him for the second time that night. She snuggled up to him and rested her head on his chest and within a few minutes was sound asleep.

Robbie felt himself fading into to sleep himself but not before placing a kiss to the top of Laura's head. He wasn't naïve, their relationship was complex sometimes, they both had baggage, they could both be stubborn and short sighted. But not for the first time since they had got together he recognised how happy and glad he was to be with someone. To be with _her_. It had been a long painful journey and she'd been the one by his side all the time. And here she was now, after all these years, wanting to be with him, despite his faults. He took in a deep restful breath and breathed out slowly with a sense of long held relief. Laura murmured something indecipherable and in her sleep her fingers gently clutched at his chest. He smiled. _Goodnight canny lass. _And he drifted off to sleep in the warm darkness.


End file.
